Clip goes back to main menu too soon

Paulm · Post by **Paulm** » Thu Jan 26, 2006 12:14 am

Hi All

I have 3 video clips in my project - the first one plays as an intro. The 2nd and 3rd clip each have several chapters that I have created in the Add/Edit Chapters section. I have made these chapters hidden - so there is no menu for them, but the user will be able to advance to the next chapter of each clip if they wish.

Problem is when the 2nd or 3rd video clip is played, it pops back to the main menu just as it hits the first hidden chapter...instead of continuing on through the whole clip. It only happens at the start of each clip. If I skip to the 2nd chapter the video continues to play right through.

Also, which is annoying, there seems to be no way to check all this before you burn the DVD. The privew page does not let you skip to the next chapter...only to the next video clip.

Any ideas?

maddrummer3301 · Post by **maddrummer3301** » Thu Jan 26, 2006 4:58 am

When you click on the GEAR icon there is a box on the bottom
referencing how to play the dvd. It's a drop-down box.
The default is usually "Play next video/chapter" maybe yours says
return to menu.

OR, maybe it's supposed to work like that.
I may have a use for that feature, although you don't.

MD

Paulm · Post by **Paulm** » Thu Jan 26, 2006 5:44 am

Thanks MD

I think you are refering to the PROJECT SETTINGS / NAVIGATION CONTROLS / CLIP PLAYBACK.

I have it set to "return to Menu" - which is what I want to happen after the entire clip. Trouble is, it is returning to the main menu on the first chapter. of each clip.

maddrummer3301 · Post by **maddrummer3301** » Thu Jan 26, 2006 1:39 pm

I'll see if my version of MF4 does that.

MD

maddrummer3301 · Post by **maddrummer3301** » Thu Jan 26, 2006 2:46 pm

Yes, If I hide chapters then play stops and returns to the menu
before the first hidden chapter.

The chapters are there in playback because I can access them.

Don't know if the program is supposed to work that way or not.

MD

tony c · Post by **tony c** » Sun Jan 29, 2006 11:24 am

Paulm,
you are not alone with this problem with chapter points. MF4 (and 3 and 2) is unreliable and frustrating for creating chapters. Players can stall, go back to the menu, or jump to some other chapter. Thumbnails in the menu can become jumbled and not relate to the chapter point you assigned them.
If you have a DVD player which shows you the bit rate it reads, you will be shocked. At every chapter point the bit rate drops to Zero for 0.5 to 4 seconds although the picture keeps playing. At 4 seconds the picture may freeze briefly. If more than 4 seconds, (depending on the player) the player gives up, freezes, and goes back to the start menu. Not very reliable!
"Hidden" chapters are a real problem. Your player will often stall on the first point, as you have found. If you delete that point and burn another disc, the player simply stalls on the next point, and so on. You cannot mix "Shown" and "Hidden" chapters within a clip either. No joy.
If you want hidden chapters, your best solution is to make all chapters "Shown", but no NOT make a chapter menu. That will work reasonably well.

Method - at start in creating dvd, Add Video,
click Add Chapters and mark all your chapter points as usual but do NOT click "Hide", OK
Check "Create Menu", Next
at My Title screen, on the left, click Advanced Settings
UNCHECK "Create Chapter Menu"
Next, and go on to play, burn etc..

In other projects where you may want normal shown chapter menus, remember to check "Create Chapter Menu", although MF4 will remind you. The default is to create the menu.

Good luck.

GeorgeW · Post by **GeorgeW** » Sun Jan 29, 2006 3:18 pm

From what I can tell, the "hide chapter" option "bypasses" that chapter during normal playback (just from using the option and seeing what happened).

For example, if I have a video that I broke up into 3 chapters (chapter-1, 2, 3), and I "Hide" chapter 2.

During playback it will play chapter-1, then skip chapter-2 moving on to chapter-3, then follow the end routine of that video.

NOTE: if you hit the "Next" button on your remote control during playback of chapter-1, you will be able to jump to the start of chapter-2 and see chapter-2 play, then chapter-3. That is because you are bypassing cell commands to tell the dvd to skip chapter-2. If you let it play through normally (without hitting the next button), it will "jump" over that hidden chapter.

hth,
George

Paulm · Post by **Paulm** » Mon Jan 30, 2006 8:55 pm

Thanks all for your help.

By chance, I had thought of and tried what Tony had suggested on the weekend and yes that works. Previosuly I thought I needed hidden chapters - but really I just don't want to create a menu for those chapters. All works fine now.

So if George's logic is right - the progeam was actually working correctly...ie hidden chapters just don't get played at all unless you skip to them with the remote. That is why it was popping back to the menu each time at the first hidden chapter. And once to skip to the first hidden chapter it will happy play any other hidden ones that follow. Not sure why you would want a hidden chapter anyway...

Again - thanks to eveyone!

Paul

huskyboy · Post by **huskyboy** » Mon Jan 30, 2006 10:03 pm

This is a good stuff... I had same problem... but it make sense what the hidden tracks do... this should be a key thread in the forum... this isn't addressed very well in the ulead manual and key feature in DVD authoring... thanks guys for clearing up

GeorgeW · Post by **GeorgeW** » Mon Jan 30, 2006 10:58 pm

Paulm wrote:Not sure why you would want a hidden chapter anyway...

There could be some uses for it. Like if you recorded an hour off your TV. You could use hidden chapters to "skip" commercials during playback...

Regards,
George